The present invention relates generally to article transfer arrangements and more particularly relates to glassware transfer from a first conveyor onto a second conveyor oriented generally perpendicularly to the first conveyor.
Various arrangements are known for transferring a series of equally spaced articles from a first conveyor onto a second conveyor oriented generally perpendicularly with respect to the first conveyor. U.S. Pat. No. 3,701,407 of Kulig issued on Oct. 31, 1972 discloses a glassware transfer mechanism wherein an endless carrier chain travels about first and second sprockets provided on either side of the first conveyor. The endless carrier chain includes a plurality of pusher members equally spaced from one another. Each pusher member includes a first wall oriented generally perpendicular to the endless carrier chain and a second wall oriented generally parallel to the endless carrier chain with the first and second walls oriented perpendicularly with respect to one another. The pusher members sequentially engage the series of articles on the first conveyor and transfer the articles onto the second conveyor by way of a fixed guide bar which releases the articles from the pusher members of the endless carrier. In Kulig, the equal spacing of the adjacent pusher members results in an equal spacing between the adjacent articles on the second conveyor.
It is customary in glassware production facilities to transfer newly formed glassware from a first conveyor onto a second conveyor oriented generally perpendicular to the first conveyor. While on the second conveyor, a series of the newly formed glassware articles is typically engaged by a stacker bar which advances the series of newly formed articles from the second conveyor onto a lehr mat for heat treating.
As production speeds of glassware forming machinery increase, the use of a conventional transfer mechanism and stacker bar with a continuous series of equally spaced glassware articles is unacceptable since a trailing edge of the stacker bar inadvertently engages a leading glassware article of the next series on the continuously advancing second conveyor. In this way, the stacker bar oftentimes knocks the leading glassware article off of the second conveyor disrupting the smooth flow of glassware articles into the lehr.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an article transfer mechanism which overcomes the disadvantages of the known prior art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an article transfer mechanism which provides an increased spacing between leading and trailing articles on a conveyor.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a glassware transfer mechanism for transferring a series of equally spaced articles from a first conveyor onto a second conveyor with an increased spacing provided between adjacent series of a predetermined number of articles.
Still further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a glassware transfer mechanism which permits a stacker bar to remove a series of articles from a conveyor without disrupting the next series of articles on the conveyor.
These and other objects of the present invention will become obvious from a reading of the detailed specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
In the apparatus according to the present invention, a series of generally equally spaced articles are transferred from a first conveyor onto a second conveyor oriented generally perpendicularly to the first conveyor. An endless carrier includes a plurality of equally spaced pusher members with the endless carrier also including at least two pusher members spaced apart a predetermined distance which is greater than the spacing of the equally spaced pusher members. Preferably, the endless carrier includes a chain which is carried by at least two sprockets provided on either side of the first conveyor and with at least two pairs of pusher members of the endless carrier being spaced apart a predetermined distance which is less than the spacing of the equally spaced pusher members. Preferably, each of the plurality of equally spaced pusher members is oriented at a first predetermined angle with respect to the endless carrier with at least one of the pusher members oriented at a second (different) predetermined angle with respect to the endless carrier. Each of the plurality of equally spaced pusher members preferably includes a first wall oriented generally perpendicular to a machine direction of the endless carrier and a second wall oriented generally parallel to a machine direction of the endless carrier. The two pusher members which are spaced apart a predetermined distance greater than the spacing of the equally spaced pusher members preferably define a leading pusher member and a trailing pusher member which are spaced apart from adjacent ones of said equally spaced pusher members by distances less than the spacing of said equally spaced pusher members.